Richardson Hall, originally named Brunonia Hall, was built in 1900 by Mrs. Mary A. Walworth of Boston as a private dormitory to accommodate 34 students in suites with such amenities as window seats and fireplaces and “Gegenstorm’s shower and needle baths.” Designed by Stone, Carpenter and Wilson, it was built by local contractors Thomas Gilbane and Brother. The dormitory was purchased by the University in 1920 to help solve housing problems. In the summer of 1951 it was converted to the use of the Graduate Division of Applied Mathematics and renamed for Roland G. D. Richardson, who initiated the Applied Mathematics program. After Applied Math acquired new quarters in 1953, the building was once more a dormitory.